Wolf-Alone

We spend years struggling with our own work, fighting to establish a style that is uniquely our own.

And yet someone comes along, copies your style from head to toe, and then behaves as if it were something they themselves created.

Faced with that, it is impossible not to feel profound contempt.

If such a person were at least openly promoting the original creator or had obtained their permission, there might still be some room for tolerance. However, when they do none of those things, one cannot help but arrive at a certain conclusion.

Is it not because, somewhere deep down, they are aware of the guilt that comes with secretly stealing what belongs to someone else?

For me personally, the deliberate imitation of another artist’s style within the same fandom triggers an especially strong sense of rejection. I believe this is something that should never be done.

Even when justified under the guise of “studying,” copying or imitating the work of an artist within the same fan community is an act of extreme disrespect that undermines their dignity.

If someone truly holds such deep admiration for an artist that they feel compelled to reference that style, then at the very least they should clearly and explicitly express their respect, actively promote the original artist, and obtain explicit permission.

What makes this behavior truly reprehensible is not merely the act of imitation or tracing itself, but the intent that so clearly shows through it.

In the end, it reveals an attempt to appropriate the achievements of artists who have already earned recognition, hoping to claim them, even partially, as one’s own. That is precisely why I cannot help but feel such intense disgust toward it.

I would like to offer a piece of advice to those who are hoping to become artists from this point forward.

Do not try to “borrow” someone else’s work simply because you want to be recognized more quickly.

Attention gained through imitation is shallow and fleeting. It will disappear quickly, and it will never truly belong to you.

Choose the slower path instead. Experiment, fail, and repeatedly question your own work.

Do not focus on copying a single artist. Study many different artists instead, and use what you learn to develop your own work, not to replicate someone else’s style.

A style built through patience and self-reflection may take time to fully take shape. But what you build through that time will become entirely your own, and no one will be able to take it from you.

And remember this as well. Being noticed online is not necessarily beneficial to you. Especially when that attention is gained by treating someone else’s work as if it were your own, it holds no real value for you at all.

Keep that in your heart, and please never again do anything that tramples on the trust of a friend.